1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed and taught herein relates generally to vacuum appliances, and more specifically relates to vacuum appliances such as vacuum cleaners having adjustable tool support systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, mechanism-type actuators are moved one way to engage, and another way to disengage a mechanism being acted upon. Take, for example, the latch on the lid of a plastic storage box or tool box: to open the lid, the latch may move one way to release the latch so that the lid can be removed or opened. Conversely, to secure the lid back in a closed position, the latch will probably need to be moved the opposite direction. The same principles can also be illustrated with reference to a spring-loaded ratchet device. One such example is a common “come-a-long” hand winch. As one pulls on the lever to crank the cable, a spring-loaded catch snaps against notches to keep the cable from unwinding. To release the cable, one would employ a second action of moving the catch away from the notches.
As a further example of this type of mechanical actuation, one can consider the operation of a typical household deadbolt door lock. A key or handle may be turned one direction to lock the deadbolt, and the opposite direction to unlock the deadbolt. However, in one or more applications, it may be advantageous to use a mechanism actuator that can be activated and deactivated using similar, or the same, inputs or motions. Although the present invention can be used in numerous applications, it will be disclosed in one of many applications for illustrative purposes.
A vacuum appliance, such as a wet/dry or work area vacuum cleaner, may have a vacuum tool mounted on the vacuum body, in particular to the bottom region (in whole or in part) of the vacuum body, such as for scrubbing or otherwise cleaning one or more surfaces during vacuuming. For example, a vacuum appliance may have a squeegee, brush, blade, or other tool mounted on or in association with the front of the unit. Attached to the tool may be a hose that couples to the inlet of the vacuum cleaner drum such that suction air and vacuumed debris flow from the tool through the hose and into the collection drum of the vacuum.
In many applications, the tool may be adjustably mounted to the vacuum cleaner so that the tool can be selectively applied to a vacuum surface when desired and removed from the surface when not in use. For example, the tool may be lifted from the surface and supported in an “up” or elevated position when not in use, and may be released or otherwise supported in a “down” or lowered position during vacuuming so that the tool can contact the surface being vacuumed. Therefore, it would be advantageous for a support system to hold, dispose or otherwise support the tool in two or more positions and allow a user to switch the tool between positions using simple and similar user input actions.
The invention disclosed and taught herein is directed to an improved support system for use with devices, such as vacuum appliances (e.g., wet/dry vacuum appliances) that engages and disengages from positions, settings, and the like using similar actuator motions and a minimal number of parts.